There is a saying that goes something like this, “Life is short, live in the moment!” This saying basically means that, because we do not know when our lives will end, we should take advantage of every moment, or seek to get the most out of life while we can.
There is an unhealthy way to apply this saying, a way that makes immediate gratification our constant goal, or a way that leads us to orient our lives around what we want instead of how we can serve others and God. These are not good or godly ways to “live in the moment.”
But this saying does teach us something important. It reminds us that, because life is short, each moment is full of potential. Every moment of every day provides us with opportunities to, as the Bible says, “make the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16). Our lives are made up of millions (billions?) of moments. How we live in them is important to God and directs the course of our lives.
Another way to say, “Live in the moment” could be to say, “Be present.” What does “being present” mean? It means that we are engaged with the people and places and opportunities right in front of us each moment.
Ever since Adam and Eve sinned and were removed from the presence of God, living with this kind of intentionality and peace has been a constant struggle for everyone. The ubiquity of technology and the age of distraction that we live in has only exacerbated a problem as old as time. And it’s a problem with real consequences. In his book You’re Only Human, Kelly Kapic says, “Modern humanity is suffering from an inability to be present. And it moves us from mere episodes of stress to lives of chronic anxiety.” We’re consumed with productivity and we fear the stillness of a quiet moment. “Whether in the office or at the kid’s soccer game,” Kapic says, “playing a few games on my phone or flipping through Facebook and checking the scores have become ways to quiet the anxious feeling of endless demands. We…avoid moments of silence of ‘not doing anything,’ most often by picking up our phones.” Not being present leads to stress and anxiety. It’s said that anxiety lives in the future (see Matt. 6:34). Equally true is the fact that peace lives in the present.
Being present has always been hard. Adam and Eve preferred hiding from God and each other because of sin. We do no less, but we arguably have more ways of escape than generations past. Smartphones, for example, have made it possible to escape the present anytime, anywhere. Wisdom here may include, among other things, setting boundaries for when we will be near our phones. No one will get this just right all the time, but progress rather than perfection is a worthy goal.
Being present wherever you are includes learning to live with a growing awareness of God’s presence with you in every single moment. Being present helps us realize that everything we do, we do coram deo, or “before the face of God.” If God is ever-present with his people, then we need to live as if all our life is lived before him.
Living coram deo is the only liberating way to live because it allows us to face all the uncertainties of life with the confidence that our sovereign King is ever present, ever wise, and ever concerned. Living coram deo doesn’t mean that everything will turn the way we want, but it does put everything in perspective.
Being present wherever we are means giving our full attention to whatever is right in front of us. As we practice this, we’ll be in a position to grow in our awareness of God’s presence in our lives. The greatest gift of living in the moment, or being present, is living in his presence, where there is “fullness of joy” (Ps. 16:11).
Growing in Being Present, With You,
Pastor John